Hallstatt (above) is a beautiful village in upper Austria lying along the shores of the Hallstatter Lake, a World Heritage site which Austrians are proud of.

A Chinese company built a replica of Hallstatt’s architecture, subdividing the building into luxury apartments and putting them on the market. Needless to say, Austrians were astonished by their homeland architecture suddenly cropping up in China.

Around 800 people live in Hallstatt surrounded by stunning mountain peaks beside the lovely lake. Hallstatt is known for its salt production which it has been producing for over 2000 years, a traditional part of its history. In 1997 Hallstatt was registered as a World Heritage site.

The real Hallstatt attracts tourists from all over the world and now the Chinese Hallstatt isn’t doing too bad either, at least with Chinese tourists. In 2005, there were only 50 visitors to China’s Hallstatt. The latest tally is up to 2400 visitors a year. That is quite an increase for a little mountain village created and built by a company!